KSCSTE’s SciGate-Kerala to promote scientific collaboration

Trivandrum: Creating a new chapter in scientific information sharing and knowledge building, the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) is launching SciGate-Kerala, an innovative online digital platform aimed at facilitating and increasing scientific collaboration.

SciGate-Kerala, an acronym for Scientific Gate, Kerala, has been developed based on the policy measures enshrined in the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2012 and Kerala’s Draft Science and Technology Policy.

The platform will map scientists, researchers and faculty members not just in Kerala but also Keralites working in other states and countries. Those interested can easily register online by submitting basic personal information. Thereupon, the system will present a list of scientific publications based on the user’s name; the user just needs to select the right ones to build his / her profile. The user also has the freedom to upload PDF versions of their full papers or its abstracts.

Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Executive VP, KSCSTE said, “Science is becoming increasingly inter and multidisciplinary as it works to develop solutions to various problems faced by the society. SciGate will serve as a catalyst in encouraging the research & development output of the State, besides permitting multi-stakeholder participation. The resource base generated by this online platform will act as a ready reckoner of innovative R&D outputs that have the potential for addressing societal needs through scaling up.”

SciGate-Kerala will also help in discovering quality publications and notable projects from Kerala by mapping publications in various basic and applied sciences. The data generated will enable an analysis of changing trends in scientific knowledge building and facilitate informed funding decisions by policy makers.